Suasion and Hortation

There is also a guide
to semantics which covers some of the differences between
sentence meaning and utterance meaning. Here we are concerned
with utterance meaning.

Here are some examples of what this guide is about:

I wish it would rain.

If only it would rain.

Leave me alone, dammit!

You shall leave now.

Dogs are to be carried on the escalators.

Don’t you dare talk to me like that!

Let’s go.

All of these sentences are intended to affect the behaviour of
others. They advise, oblige or suggest at variable levels of
intensity. A mouse trap is designed to affect the behaviour of
mice. We can do this linguistically, too.

You may not be familiar with the term suasion;
few are, to be honest. It was defined by Wilkins as:

the category of utterance designed
to affect the behaviour of others(Wilkins, 1976: 46)

Other analyses speak of hortatory sentences. That's the
line taken here.
(Lots of course materials and teaching guides chop this
area up into misty concepts such as suggesting, requesting
and demanding. That is too vague for our purposes.)

Hortative derives from the Latin hortatorius
meaning encouraging or cheering (think gladiators,
Ben Hur and chariot races and you have the idea).
In some languages (such as Japanese and early European languages
like Ancient Greek) a special grammatical tense form or modal
category is reserved for what is known as hortative sentences.
However, most modern languages have lost the special case reserved
for such things. These days, we prefer just to talk about the
function and the word for it is suasion – i.e.,
persuading and dissuading.(The topic of suasion gets a section to
itself in the Council of Europe publications which are available on
the web:
Waystage 1990 by Van Ek and Trim
Threshold 1990 by Van Ek and Trim
You may like to look there for more linguistic realisations of some
of the following.)

Three main divisions

The divisions set out here are not the only possible way to analyse
this area but, for teaching purposes, they are helpful because they
represent some universal concepts. How languages express the
concepts varies dramatically, of course, but they all do it somehow.

1. The
optative

The optative expresses wishes and hopes. Usually, the
optative is directed at things we cannot personally affect or
change. In this respect, it is not really an example of
suasion but it belongs in this area. English does this in a
number of ways. Can you think of two ways to express wishes
and hopes in English?
Click here when you have made a note.

The most obvious one is using the words wish or
hope.Some languages (including yours or your students'?) don’t distinguish the
ideas of
hope and
expect but English does.
The forms are slightly tricky. English often uses the verb
will and its past tense form, would, after these optative verbs
and that causes some trouble because would has two different
functions:

As an expression of a wish that is unlikely to be fulfilled,
for example: I wish it would get warmer

To express a wish in the past tense, where it is the
past of will. For example: I wished the rain would stop
Here are some more examples. All the clauses here can be
connected using that:

I wish (that) it would rainpresent tense of
wish +
would clause to express the speakers view that rain
is unlikely

I hope (that) it rainspresent of hope + present tense clause
to express slightly more certainty that it will in fact
rain

I hope (that) it'll rainpresent tense of
hope plus will clause to express
slightly more certainty that it will in fact rain

I wished (that) it would rainpast of
wish +
would
clause to set the event / state in the past

I hoped (that) it would rainpast of
hope with a
would clause to set the event / state in the past

The use of the word wish is also slightly
anomalous.

When used with actions or events, the convention is to
follow it with would as in, e.g.: I wish he would stop talking
I wish you would listen
I wish you would be more sensitive
etc. The last example, incidentally, is the dynamic
use of the verb be, not its use to refer to a state
so it is akin to an action.

When the verb is used to refer to states, then the
subjunctive form of the verb is conventional as in, e.g.: I wish it were warmer
He wishes he were ten years younger
I wish she were here
etc. and often, in colloquial speech, the subjunctive form
can be replaced by the indicative so we also allow: I wish it was warmer
He wishes he was ten years younger
I wish she was here
although this use is avoided in formal writing and speech.

When the verb is used to express a forlorn hope (i.e.,
one which the speaker / writer does not think will be
fulfilled), the verb wish is usually followed by
the past form as in, e.g.: I wish you studied harder
I wish she came more often
I wish she was working with me

When the verb itself is in the past, two following types
of forms are possible:

past tenses, the subjunctive or would
express the fact that the thing wished for and the
wishing happened at the same time: I wished he studied harder
I wished she came more often
I wished she was working with me
I wished the rain would stop
I wished she were here He wished he were ten years
younger

past perfect forms express that the wish is for an
event which did not occur before the wish was expressed: I wished he had studied harder
I wished she had come more often
I wished she had been working with mebut the form is not usually available to refer to
states so:
I wished it had been warmer
He wished he had been ten years younger
I wished she had been hereare all rare to the point of non-existence.

The if only structure is common:
If only it
would rain
If only the sun would shineetc.
For states, rather than actions, the subjunctive form is
preferred as in: If only he were wealthier
See below under the subjunctive for more examples.

More formal expressions with old uses of the modal verb may such as
May the force be with you.
May he live a
thousand years.
This is poetic or formal (hence the
use in Star Wars, by the way, to give the impression of ancient
knights going out to defend the kingdom and so on).

A formal expression with let, e.g.:
Let it
rain
Let the sun shine
Let it be light
Let him be promotedetc.
This is rare
and a subjunctive use of the main verb.

The subjunctive:

We have some leftover phrases from Old English using the
subjunctive as in
God save the Queen
Long live Che
Guevaraand so on. You can tell it’s the present
subjunctive by the missing ‘-s’ inflexion on the verb.
There's
a
guide to the subjunctive on this site.

We sometimes use the past subjunctive after if only,
e.g.:
If only he left
If only she didn’t talk so much
If only I were cleverIt is more common to use
would (see 1.) but would cannot be used
for states so, e.g.: *If only I would be clever
*If only he would be here
are not available and we use the subjunctive after if
only as in, e.g.: If only I were clever
If only he were hereUnlike the use of the subjunctive after wish,
the replacement with the indicative is rarer and:
If only I was clever
If only he was cleverare less acceptable, even in informal speech.

We also have an odd past subjunctive which is much like
the wish construction. For example,
Would
that it rained
Would the rain only cameetc.
It’s also quite rare.

wish itself is often followed by the
subjunctive as we saw above as in, e.g.:
I wish he were here.

2. The hortative

The hortative is the name given to sentences which attempt to
persuade others to do something. There are two essential ways to do this:

We encourage someone else to do something. This is
called the exhortative.

We try to get someone to cooperate with us in doing
something. This is called the cohortative.

Exhortative: i.e., encouraging someone else
to do something. The uses are almost always in the second
person.
In English we frequently use modal verbs of
obligation as in
You should try the dark beer
You must try
the dark beer
You ought to try the dark beer and so on.
These uses of modal verbs are not imperatives in this case but
variations in the strength of encouragement.
Many other modal auxiliary verbs are possible: You might try ...
Could you (please) ...
Would you mind ...
We also use
the bare imperative form as in Try the dark beer! and
sometimes soften it with just as in Just try the
dark beer!

Cohortative: i.e., encouraging cooperative
behaviour. These uses are almost always first person
plural.

In English, the most common way is the let’s construction which contains the only example of the
abbreviated us in English. To use the full form,
let us, is considered formal and mostly reserved for
written language or prepared statements and speeches.
The let’s construction is always
cohortative. If you say it in full, it usually becomes an
imperative.
Compare:

Let’s go (meaning I am encouraging
you to cooperate in leaving now)

Let us go
(usually meaning Release us!). It is possible to
use this full form as a cohortative but it sounds odd and may be
ambiguous.
In writing, it is more common, especially as a form of
conjunct in, e.g., Let us now go on to consider
etc.

Other constructions are possible: Shall we ... ?
How about ... ?
What about ... ?
Why don't we ... ?

3. The
imperative

The imperative is the form we use to oblige someone else to do
something, and it also comes in four main flavours.
Can you think of two ways we oblige other people to do, or not to
do, things in English?
Click here when you have a note.

The imperative itself, of course. The form of the
imperative itself is very simple in English and its effect can
range from an absolute demand to a mild suggestion or polite
request (i.e. a
hortative). Examples are:
Leave me alone, dammit!
Get
off my land!
Give me a moment to think, please.
Just wait a
moment.
Don’t drink that!and so on.
We soften imperatives with words like kindly, please, just
etc. or make them more demanding by using intonation and
swearing.
Adding a question tag (with rising intonation and greater
stress) often has the effect of intensifying the imperative: Just do it, will you?
There is in English no progressive imperative
(you can’t say Be going!, for example) as there is in
some languages.

Modal auxiliary verbs of obligation:
These include:

The obvious must and have to forms as
in, e.g., You must not let him come.
You have to arrive before 9.

Depending
on context and intonation, other modal auxiliary verbs can express obligation
as in: You should attend the examination at 09:00 (which is not
advice) You shall leave now.
You will not write.The last two of these uses are rare and very formal.

A less frequently noted modal in this respect is dare as in, e.g.: Don’t you dare talk to me like that!It is only possible to use dare as a
negative imperative.

In question forms, other
modal verbs appear as in: Can you stop that please?
Would you come here a minute?
Would you mind opening the window?These uses of can and would as
imperatives often depend on the relationship between speaker
and hearer, i.e., who is in
authority.

The if only structure can be used as an imperative, too, as
in, e.g.,
If only you would shut upbut it’s uncommon.

The present tense of be.
This is generally reserved for
notices and very formal statements such as: Children are not to
run in the corridors.
Dogs are to be carried on the escalators
and so on.
It is equivalent in strength to the use of must.
There is a rather odd use in the past tense, e.g.:
We
were to come at 6 o’clockwhich is a rare instance
of a past imperative in English.

On notices and commands, English uses a very simple form –
the word no followed by a noun. For example
No entry
No
smoking
No talkingetc.
Sometimes just the noun will do: Silence in court!

Softened imperativesEnglish habitually softens the imperative mood in three
ways:

We use a passive: Do that nowvs.
That
needs to be done now.

We use the first person plural: You must do it todayvs.
We must get it done today.

We attribute the imperative to a third party:
Get
the accounts up to date todayvsThe taxman wants
up-to-date accounts today.

The summary

As was stated above, the optative really doesn't fall neatly into
the area of suasion but, in English at least, similar forms are used
and the language is intended to affect the behaviour of someone or
something other than the speaker. Conceptually, and for
teaching purposes, it seems sensible to include it here.

Teaching suasion

structural issues

The important issue is to look carefully at the forms of the
various realisations of the functions. There is something of a
mishmash.

wish and hope are followed by would
clauses, with or without a connecting that. Tense
structures with wish, in particular, can be complex and
include the use of the subjunctive.

if only can be followed by a would clause
(with or without that) and is also followed by a
subjunctive form.

let's, shall we and why don't we are
followed by the bare infinitive but how about and
what about are frequently followed by a gerund.

many of the grammatical realisations are rare or only formal
(or both).

It makes sense, especially at lower levels, therefore, carefully
to select realisations which have parallel forms and to teach the
area piecemeal. Trying to introduce too many forms and too
many levels of intensity will confuse and disorientate your
learners.

meaning issues

the line between imperative and hortative statements is not
clear cut.

the use of modal auxiliary verbs is very variable in terms of the strength
of hortation / imperative and is radically affected by
intonation.

the role relationship between speaker and hearer is a key
issue. For example, between equals a statement such as
You have to try harder may be exhortatory but between a
boss and an employee, it becomes an imperative.

Setting a clear context for any presentation or practice is,
therefore, even more important than usual.

pronunciation issues

Allied to the meaning and context concerns is the use of
intonation and stress. For example:

Falling intonation on Why don't we do it? may
indicate an imperative but rising intonation is more likely to
indicate a cohortative.

Stressing the modal will normally increase its intensity.

It's important that the role of pronunciation is given prominence
in teaching this area or you risk your learners sounding imperative
when they mean to be hortative and vice versa.